


wildflower

by SpaceKid



Category: Funhaus (Video Blogging RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Alternate Universe - High School, FakeHaus, Multi, Switchblades and Gym Class AU, but high school, remember that yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceKid/pseuds/SpaceKid
Summary: She no longer uses her surname, no one who knows her now knows what it is. The name long and forgotten along with the family she left behind.
Relationships: Bruce Greene/Adam Kovic/Matt Peake/Sean Poole/Joel Rubin/Lawrence Sonntag/Elyse/James Willems, Elyse Willems/James Willems, Matt Peake/Elyse Willems
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	wildflower

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this back when that gta high school au switchblades and gym class by hausofgreene was big

Elyse has always been very good at running. And maybe it began with the first track and field in the third grade, or maybe it was the congratulations she got when she finished first in the Terry Fox run in a little jog around the field with everyone else in kindergarten and it cleared her little mind. But Elyse never really participated in it as a sport when track and field was no longer mandatory. Instead she began running from other things, the first crush she had on a girl, another blonde canadian, where they stopped talking and it ended their friendship. The first time a boy tried to kiss her and well that was another time it was both running out of the room and not talking to him other than a quick “I'm sorry” before never talking again. It was a pattern. Something happened, Elyse would get nervous and instead of solving it with a joke she'd disappear from the situation even if the other person was hardly aware there was anything for her to run from. Sometimes this running would be for weeks, months, years. It was a long time until she could run from her family. 

Elyse didn't have a bad life by any means. Well in comparison. It wasn't like her parents directly hurt her, physically. It was always passive jabs at her grades, her appearance. No punches thrown, maybe her phone taken away if she got caught with something she shouldn't have done. Usually under the strict watching eye of her parents she began to learn to hide things, tell enough but not all the truth. Tell your parents about your day but nothing bad. Nothing that causes concern nothing suspicious, don't say anything to your friends over text, if at all. Be careful the nights when your parents tell you not to come home. On these nights make sure you know a friend whose parents will let you show up on their doorstep, or a place outside that's not too bad. Learning to always have a backpack with a weekend worth of clothes and a blanket and always know where your sweaters are. 

Her parents split up when she was eight and her moms boyfriend was nice so, they had decided to leave. Elyse and her little sister were born with five year age difference. They moved to California when she was twelve, it was a nice change of scenery and she was excited to see the ocean for the first time. It was hard to leave her friends, but even then her natural instinct to run gave her a rush of adventure with leaving. Her parents thought this would help her ‘issues’, they called it, from the original divorce but it had only given it more room to roam. She often hid these parts of herself behind jokes and self deprecating humour.

Upon arrival she moved into a nice area, her parents saving habits making this possible to move into a nice area. Elyse's parents were a little religious and attended church, where she often saw a boy with striking blue eyes. Those eyes the shade of the ocean that she adored so much, stuck with her for years. She didn't care about church it wasn't something talked about at home, it had mostly been for image so she had no reason to pay attention when she was there. It was hard to pay attention when someone spoke that long to begin with. They didn't really speak until they were around fourteen, she was two years younger than him but their parents left them with the younger kids downstairs briefly and Elyse can't stand an awkward silence, "These kids are at least eighty percent of the reason I'm pro-choice" she smiles at him, holding a child much too young to understand the joke.  
He returned the smile and she never forgot that familiar look of someone she could trust.  
She found out that day his name was James Willems, she told him she was Elyse, but when prompted never gave a last name.

She stopped going to church late that year but still saw James occasionally, she considered him a trustworthy friend.

Elyse had been kicked out for the night again, never rudely, just "Go find somewhere else to go tonight okay? Be home by seven pm on sunday though, you're going to school whether you like it or not. No whining, we will be leaving in fifteen minutes and when I lock the door you better be out already". They took her younger sister if she wasn't at a friends house anyway, she was better there. But this time, she wasn't prepared to spend the night under the bridge, her friends has expressed their parents were increasingly suspicious about how often and late notice Elyse came over. She didn’t want this to result in an investigation. As a last resort she attempted to search her mind for somewhere James would be that wasn't his house. They never really talked about family and home, but, she remembered the baseball diamond he said him and his friend were at often. She secured her bag on her back and headed along the way there. 

Upon arrival she could, hear the sounds of a bat hitting baseballs, she jogged around the corner to get a better look, in hopes it was the blue eyed boy, but, was instead met with a boy with dark hair that shone in the artificial light illuminating the diamond as the sun set. For a moment, she stopped, a little disappointed, but then distracted by the boy's concentration. He was clearly using this as a stress relief that seemed to be working. With every swing he looked more content with himself. Eventually, he looked up, sweating a little, breathing heavily, and saw Elyse. She didn't immediately react, completely enthralled by the boy. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before he stood up properly and waved, "Uh, can I help you?" 

She shook herself a little remembering why she came here, "Oh, uh sorry! I was just wondering if you knew James? James Willems?"

His black hair reflected nicely as he nodded his head, "Yeah, me and him are spending the night at a friends house, I could text him? What's your name?"

"That'd be great, my name's Elyse, what about you?"

The boys eyebrows raised in what appeared to be recognition as he pulled out his phone, "I'm Lawrence, James has mentioned you before, I was just about to head out, I could just take you with me. I'm sure there wouldn't be a problem"

The pros and cons were quickly weighed and Elyse followed Lawrence to his vehicle.  
They arrived at a house in a decent part of town with one vehicle already in the driveway and a few lights on inside. Once the vehicle was turned off, they both stepped out and moved towards the door, before they got there the door opened revealing James. He looked the same, but older, and those same eyes, though stared back at Elyse before he opened his mouth, “Get your asses in here, Adam ordered pizza and made us wait for you two” he grinned at the two of them.

Any and all concerns Elyse had about showing up disappeared in that moment.

Elyse quickly felt welcome in the household. When she had walked in, she met yet another man, presumably Adam, who radiated warmth. She recognized him from another encounter by the bridge she’d camp under during the summer. The same boy who once offered her nice conversation and a cigarette on a warm night last July, now offered her a bed and meal in his home. She had never explained why exactly she needed a place to stay but she was welcomed nonetheless. She briefly noticed that though James had said Adam made them wait to eat, that he hadn’t touched the pizza himself. They had explained that others will likely be joining them tomorrow and she was welcome to stay however long necessary. As much as the boys that night clearly had attempted to keep their relationship on the downlow while she was there as to not make her uncomfortable, she picked up that not only were these three involved, but also the others they had mentioned. She smiled every time the boys showed nothing but pure affection for each other. She couldn’t help but hope that someday she would find the sense of home she felt between these boys. 

Adam had given her the upstairs bed saying that Lawrence and James could sleep on the couch and he could sleep on the bed in the garage. She’d protested, but not too much when she saw the concern on his face. 

The following morning, she woke up to the smell of hash browns and the sound of conversation. She got up slowly and continued downstairs in the clothing she slept in and joined the rest downstairs. The man cooking was one she recognized, though not one that was there the night previous. She remembered watching him fight, then helping him patch up afterwards despite his reluctance to allow her to help him, he did let her. She remembered him introducing himself as Bruce, but this was a very different setting, and instead of being covered in a mix of his own and another man's blood, here he was, cooking breakfast for her and several other boys. James and Lawrence sat on barstools at the counter and Adam had yet to be seen. They both turned to her when she reached the bottom of the stairs with various greetings but no awkwardness about her being there. She was thankful, and assumed they’d talked about it while she slept and would not have to explain who she was. Bruce grinned at her, “The Alley Nurse! I thought I recognized the name Elyse, want hash browns?”

“Hey you and another guy had open wounds, don't want the winner coming down because he fought some sketchy guy with a disease! I would also love hash browns” she stepped towards them feeling completely welcomed within the group.

“You guys know each other?” James spoke up, looking quizzically at them.

Bruce smiled and nodded, “Did I not tell you guys about that fight I got into I'd say maybe 5 months ago? In some alley downtown the guy was pretty sleezy, was creeping some girl. I told him to back off we fought, I won, Elyse was like further down the alley and had like a first aid kit of all things, pretty insistent on getting me to wipe down some scratches”

“Actually I've met Adam before too!” Elyse interjected, “We hung out on a bridge a bit closer to where I live, we just talked until he left” 

“And I'm sure Joel has mentioned you before too? You drank together in his neighbourhood?” Lawrence spoke.

“Rubin? Oh yeah, neither of us could go home and both of us brought alcohol to a playground at night. What are the chances I've met that many of you guys before”

“Makes me wonder if you’ve met any of the other guys, fate of friendship” James laughed smiling at her. 

Later that day she ended up staying at the house and finding out that she had in fact met at least one of the other boys, Sean, briefly one night in the sketchier side of town. She remembered him sporting bruises at the time, and she recognizes more bruises this time.

The boys mentioned a seventh boy that wasn't there today, they texted him and explained he was spending time with his dad today.

Later that night she explained why she needed somewhere to stay.

She went home, just in time. Continued this week, but this time with comfort in not having to return to that bridge. Elyse had gotten a few of the boys’s numbers and texted them whenever she had time. She went to a different school than all of them, which to her wasn't very surprising. And on Thursday when she got home from school and the door was locked and she found no clear way in, she broke into her bedroom, grabbed her weekend bag, got back out and made sure you couldn't tell she’d been in and headed to Adam’s.

She had met the last boy, Matt, before too. He tagged her bridge one night. He didn't speak but she talked about what he was painting. He listened to her speak for a little while before he received a text and left.

It's been a few months since she's met the boys. Elyse had been clued into the nickname ‘Basecamp’ for Adam’s house and had enough drunken nights with them all to have at least a vague idea of why they were all almost always here.  
Along with the nickname for the house, she found out everyone had nicknames. Though not everyone liked their nicknames, they decided she needed one too. Spoole had taken to calling her Wildflower. She adored it and began replacing the last name she never spoke of with it.  
Everyone agreed that Elyse Wildflower sounded better than the name they didn't know. 

She finds comfort in the fact that she doesn't feel like she has to run from anything here. She lets herself relax and slowly starts calling Basecamp Home. 

One drunken heart to heart ends with James explaining the relationship he's in more in detail and how if she's interested the two of them could begin dating as well. One drunken heart to heart ends in one drunken make out session. 

It's now the summer again when Elyse feels the need to run. What else could she do? James is an amazing boyfriend, but his boyfriends are also amazing boyfriends and it’s been about two months and she feels terrible. She can't fall in love with her boyfriend’s boyfriends this is too much for her. Every time someone calls her Wildflower she melts. And everytime she wakes up to Bruce’s or Joel's cooking she wants to kiss them. When her and Lawrence are playing video games early in the mornings because they're too stubborn to sleep she feels so comforted with her head on his lap. Spoole is the cutest thing ever, skateboarding to Basecamp with a flower or two in his hand that reminded him of her. Adam in general radiates a warmth that she hasn't felt in years that makes her feel okay all the time. And Matt just listens, she knows she talks too much but she feels like they balance eachother out. Matt has yet to speak to her ever but he nods when she's speaking and knows he's listening and she can talk forever about anything and he listens and smiles. And then she crashes, these men aren't her boyfriends. James is, beautiful James who is funny and kind and knows her so well and knows just how much to push her when she's feeling down so she knows he cares and he can pick her out of these slumps so easily. She loves them all. And that's why she needs to run, she can't love them all. She can't make that seven an eight. 

She does it again. Cleared with her parents, she leaves town with little notice, her same weekend bag, now filled with a mix of her clothing and stuff stolen from the boys, money she’s saved from working and her phone. All she needs to survive for a couple months and it’ll be about a week until the boys realize she’s skipped town.  
It's hard to force herself not to text them while she is on a greyhound to the border. She tries texting old friends, but they haven't spoken in a few months and it's unsatisfying. She takes to watching Netflix for a majority of the ride. 

She's not sure where she's going but needs to leave. It's a 2 day drive from LA to the border, she crosses near Vancouver and begins her way to her hometown. She receives her first text,’how are you?’ from James on the third day after spending the night in an airport because no hotel would accept a lone sixteen year old. She ends up writing and rewriting a reply twelve times before opting not to reply. She continues on her journey, stopping at places she knows and likes. A day later she has about 5 texts from James asking for a reply but she stopped for a bit and walked around the Enchanted Forest, a tourist stop, outside Sicamous and a little off the Trans-Canada but is a distraction. She has to stop herself several times from asking to be added the group chat again to send selfies of her crouching next to fairy gardens and sitting in mushroom themed playgrounds. Elyse thinks about how the boys would've had a good time here and cuts her visit short to catch an earlier bus to Calgary. On lucky day five she begins getting texts from the other boys, Adam first asking the same ’how are you?’ and ‘Elyse, please we're worried’. Bruce and Spoole text next, ‘Hey, where are you?’ And ‘wildflower, I wanna show u a cool new trick I learned with my board pls reply’.  
She forces herself to turn off her phone and get off the bus at the dinosaur museum. She has a good time and impulsively buys small gifts for the boys from the gift shop before leaving. She feels terrible about leaving after that and doesn't end up buying herself food and instead eats a granola bar that's been sitting in her bag for a few months. Elyse rethinks running after that. It's never been this hard to leave. She checks her phone and sees a few new texts and turns it off again to search for a place to sleep.

It's been eight days now, the drive through Saskatchewan was pretty quiet. She got the first text from Lawrence and Joel ‘youre not home, your parents won't talk to anyone but James or Joel, they really don't like the rest of us’ and ‘:((( where did you go? Come back soon’ and she’s hit with guilt again. She starts talking to the bus driver and feels like she knows him fairly well. Jimmy B, seven kids, a wife, former stunt double, crashed a 16 vehicles but never had an accident. He spent a majority of the ride giving her tips on how to drive a vehicle. He waved her off and she figured that would be a story to tell someone. She transferred buses In Moose Jaw and got off the bus in Winnipeg. Elyse isn't one hundred percent on why the long way home was a good idea but anything for a distraction. She got in contact with a friend she used to have and slept there. Her friend tried to spark conversation and she indulged him for a little bit, but when it made a turn she wasn't fond of, went to sleep but stayed on guard. It's been many years since she's spoken to him and tonight was a reminder on why. Elyse left the following morning not bothering to say goodbye but leaving a note ‘thanks for giving me a place to stay’ on the counter. She visited the Children's Museum and refused to look at her phone other than to take pictures of herself with the exhibits.

After a few hours she had enjoyed herself enough to hop on a bus to Thunder Bay. The bus ride was long and she slept a majority of the ride and arrived in the early morning. She was almost back to where she grew up. It was the eleventh day when she got to Thunder Bay and she didn't stay long. She checked her phone and had several texts from the boys, though she noted, not one from Matt yet. Elyse briefly hoped that he was okay, but dismissed it as she was the one who left if he's not okay it's probably her fault. Why would they care she left anyways. It would be better if she didn't come back home. 

Home. She needs to stop calling it that.

Thunder Bay offers her little during her time there. Elyse ended her eleventh day in a small town 45 minutes away from where she grew up. Now that she was so close to a place she didn't originally plan on going, she was hesitant. Did she want to go back and reacquaint herself with what is currently a source of nostalgia. Ruin the illusion she knows she's created of the place and the people. Elyse wondered if her father was around, maybe at his moms house. Her grandma, the one person who offered her a place to stay and food to eat and asked nothing in return. Who raised her in many ways her mother failed. 

She slept on familiar streets that night. 

On the morning of the twelfth day, she distanced herself from her emotions and forced herself to continue forward. Her grandmother, in the least, deserved a visit. 

She watched as the vehicle of a stranger passed her old elementary school and the only Subway in town. The stranger herself was kind, mother of two, divorced, cares too much about the rest of the world. That was depressing, even for Elyse, she shrugged internally, it was this woman's concern for everyone else that meant she didn't have to walk a day and a half to her destination. 

The woman drove Elyse right to her grandmother's house, a small ways out of town, but comfortably so. Elyse and the woman exchanged waves and Elyse thanked her for the ride before turning to the familiar house. She grew up here, spent so much time here, with her sister or her cousins, friends and other family. She didn't think she would really have a chance to come back. 

Elyse walked to the door, knocked once, twice, three times. Finally the off white door opened to reveal a shorter woman with long hair. “Oh! My baby! No one told me you would be around!” Elyse was enveloped in a warm hug.

Elyse melted, her emotions flooding back, she began to cry, “Grand-mere, I missed you so much”

She spent three days there. The first night was talking about her family, her parents and her sister. She even talked about the boys but only brought up that she was dating James. The second was enjoying eachothers company. They watched movies they used to watch together, they baked together, and Elyse helped her grandma finish a puzzle. On the third day her grandma asked why she was there. Why wasn't she home in California? What about that boy? Why are you always reading these texts but never replying they sound worried. 

Elyse didn't know what to tell her. About the boys, about how home has been. About how much she loved James but also loved everyone else. About how she couldn't reply because if she replied she would be running back and she was trying to get away. If she replied to their texts she would end up going home and she couldn't. 

In the end she replied, “Me and James hit a rough patch I guess, I'm not ready to go back just yet. The parents haven't been home a whole lot lately, they let me leave”

Her grandmother did not like this response and Elyse was scolded for being like her father. “A good thing was never enough for you two. You both deserve these things that happen to you but you destroy them with your own bare hands. I refuse to let two children I raised throw away everything. You're leaving tomorrow. I'll give you food and money, go to Toronto, your father is living on the streets you will find him. Talk to him, then decide what you're going to do”

The look in her eyes was clearly not giving Elyse an option to stay or continue travelling much further. 

They ate a big meal that night and in the morning Elyse woke to breakfast, a packed lunch, and an envelope of money. They ate together and spoke, and before Elyse left she gave her grandmother a big hug, “Je t’aime, Grand-mere, I'll try to visit or call more often”

“You always have a home here, baby, Je t’aime” her grandmother said in return.

Elyse made her way to the next bus station, day sixteen.

She arrived to Toronto in the late evening of that day. She knew Toronto decently and at one point wanted to attend university here, but has since lost that dream. Elyse knew the sketchier parts of town, she remembered picking her dad up here with her mom when she was young, mom waiting outside the police station when he got thrown in for bar fights. Picking him off the side of a street after he lost. She knows the streets his friends live on, the street his favourite shelter is on, his favourite bars. In the remaining daylight she hid her cash and phone in her bra under an unflattering hoodie and began her search. 

By the time the sun set, she had only had three people willing to direct her in the direction of the man, and two spit on her face at the mention of his name. At least she knew he hadn't changed. She ended up sleeping in her dad's shelter that night, Elyse conversed with people she knew to be there often, some she even recognized though they no longer recognized her. These people said that her father had been around the previous night but was working and got paid so it was likely he wouldn't be back until that cash ran out. She agreed with that and decided to continue the search tomorrow, this time with the fact he had money in mind. 

She found him in a McDonald's a few streets higher than she expected. Two days after her night in the shelter, night eighteen she noted, on her way to find a place with wifi. A slightly nicer part of town, one where she could sit down on her phone and not have to check if it's still there five minutes after she puts it away. Which just happened to be what he was doing. Sitting, drinking coffee, with a phone in one hand and a sausage and egger in the other. Elyse ordered herself the exact meal and approached him. Upon closer inspection she noticed the bruises on his face, more fights, more alcohol than. The hardly concealed track marks on his arms proved that still wasn't his only addiction. Added to that was the shake he couldn't hide if he tried. More withdrawal, something she is familiar with. 

She sat a little ways away unwilling to go to him. Elyse recognized him but he was obviously withering away. He looked years older than he should, hardly touched the egger itself, she thought about growing up with him as a father. When something got hard he went out and drank, he went out and did something that left her mother to clean up his mess. He was worse than the children that she was trying to raise. And in hall honesty can Elyse even blame her mother for the way she was raised. The man a few tables over from her did nothing but hide his emotions until the only way to deal with them was drowning them in alcohol. Elyse realizes that she does the same thing. 

At some point the two of them make eye contact. He stands, and moves towards her. It's clear he recognizes her at this point. But he moves past her without a word. He left the quiet McDonald’s without making any movement to even acknowledge that Elyse was there.

She watched as he jogged to catch up with a man who she recognized as his one of his shadier friends. At least he ate half of that Egger she thought before shoving her own in her bag and grabbing her phone. She planned on sitting here for a few hours now that everything she felt needed to be done was. Elyse thought about where she would go next. An eighteen day trip and she's about halfway through Canada, maybe she should head to the Maritimes. The East coast with the ocean she envied for its pure untameable power. Maybe she would head back down to Florida. She would run out of money eventually though, she would need a job soon enough. Elyse pulled out her phone. She couldn't keep running though. Her dad did that, and look where that got him. Chasing a man who held many other lives in his hands because the lost control themselves. She can admit she follows his footsteps. And it does scare her to think that she might sit in a McDonald's in a busy city waiting for a man who would supply her with her next big high. Blow off anyone regardless of who they are to her for that.

She just wants to fly away, or slow down enough so she can finally smell the fucking roses. God she needs a break. Or maybe she needs the boys she accidentally fell in love with. 

She felt her phone vibrate in her hand for the incoming texts.  
Gunshow- “Elyse, I love you come home soon?”  
CryBaby- “I watered our flowers, I need help with these there's so many”  
Knuckle Daddy- “do you know how hard it is to not make extra food when you're used to cooking for a certain amount of people and one just disappears? we have about a month worth of leftovers 4 u when u come home”  
Tank- “I just beat your Mario Kart record”  
PrettyBoy- “you never talked to us about Barbara who is that? Where are you?”  
Secondhand- “:(( come home I'll watch Shrek with u if u do”

She almost put her phone away feeling guilty again before the last text popped up.

Sheriff- “Spoole has been watching Shrek for three days now, James has hardly eaten anything but protein bars since we realized you were gone. Bruce needs some serious patching up again, Joel’s been checking in with your parents everyday for information. Come Home Please”

Elyse grabbed her bag, tears starting in her eyes and left she McDonalds and quickly as her father did. She walked in the direction of the nearest greyhound station but only made it about two blocks before she needed to sit down.

Elyse cried for the first time to herself in months. There was too much overwhelm, travel is tough, and she's been gone for almost three weeks at this point, sleep doesn't come easy, neither does food all the time. Seeing her grandma and her father are emotionally exhausting and now Matt and the boys. Elyse doesn't know how to respond to the situation. The gifts she impulsively bought from the Dinosaur Museum held heavy in her bag. She quickly fishes out her phone from her sweater pocket and begins calling James’s number but once again opts out and hops on the quickest bus back to LA.

Day twenty one and she's back in California. No more sight seeing, no more distractions. She needs to decide right now how much like her father she's going to be. Three weeks ago she left and now approaching Los Angeles once again, will they still really want her back, she left them and can't promise she won't do it again. Will she be able to tell them why she left in the first place?

She decides she may as well be in the area. She has nowhere else to go. No more explorations for herself. Elyse decides to stay but not to talk to anyone yet. 

She spends that night under her bridge. When she needs food she breaks into the house and takes what she needs. Her parents don't know she's back yet. The following day she just hangs around careful to avoid being out too much. She gets some alcohol and starts drinking for the night of the twenty second day gone. 

Her phone is very very close to dying, she hasn't plugged it in since she got off the bus. So, she will soon be drinking in silence and she knows that will be worse. 

Less than fifteen minutes later her music stops and her bottle of vodka almost halfway empty, she puts the small blanket from her bag behind her back as she leans against the cement wall. 

Elyse sits there silently with her drunken thoughts. She is a whirlwind of internal emotions and she starts crying again. The warm summer wind warrants no more than the sweater she's already wearing and Elyse feels safe again. She reflects on what she's done and tries to predict how everyone will feel when she returns but it only makes her feel worse. She gets silent again and just leans against the wall wishing for sleep to claim her. 

Just as Elyse’s eyes begin getting heavy, she recognizes footsteps, the rattling of spray cans, and finally the spray of paint. She doesn't move despite how badly she wants too. She knows that it's Matt he’s the only one that paints this bridge. She stays quiet and let's him paint for a little, the sound itself even reminds her of home.

She began to panic again. Trying to keep her breathing until control so to avoid Matt hearing her. God, she misses him. She misses them all. How did she think leaving would fix that. It never fixed that. If anything it almost made it worse, leaving never did good. She wants so badly to just talk to Matt because she knows that he would listen but she just can’t. Fuck, she really needs these boys.

She shifts slightly, her leg cramps from being in the straining position to keep herself upright and shE has to move it to a different position. Elyse knew Matt would've heard her though, she stayed still praying he didn't, she didn't know what to say to him yet. She didn't have an excuse, this wasn't even something she could rationalize. But, when Matt ducked down to see what made the noise and found her his eyes went wide, he moved towards her.

She found in his eyes, question, concern, and hurt. Elyse knows that those emotions are her fault. Matt approaches her much like a you would an injured animal and she immediately wants nothing more than to wrap herself around him and apologize. But, how welcome is that action right now, her throat tightens as she tries to hold back not only tears but also words. He sits in front of her, like he also fears how welcome any action is. 

After a moment, when the ache in her throat gets too much she chokes out, “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to like hurt you guys, I shouldn't have come back, like I don't know I had no right to do that” she realizes she stumbling over her words but continues to ramble on about being sorry and leaving.

Matt looks taken aback by her words and makes an action to move towards her. He puts a hand on her knee and her words slow down, she makes eye contact with him and takes a deep breath. “I'm really sorry…” She repeats.

Matt makes an expression that she understands as ‘you don't have to apologize’, and ‘breathe’. He moves to grasp her in an almost hug to comfort her and feels her breathing slowly even out and stop shaking. 

She looks at him, soft curls resting on his forehead, silent words of comfort still manage to reach her. She leans towards him, his warmth a comfort and kisses him. No. “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She recoils, “I shouldn’t have done that! Why am I such an idiot, Matt, I'm so sorry, I had no right to do that. It was an impulse I'm sorry” she began tripping over her words again, “I'm not completely sure how your relationship works, you’re dating everyone else! I'm dating James! I didn’t even ask you before I kissed you! I'm sorry-” 

Matt grabs her hand, silently interrupting her, and kisses her quickly in return before pulling back but continuing to hold her hand. He kisses her knuckles and finally says, “I- We- want you here, as long as you want to be here. We’ve talked it out already, we just didn’t get to talk to you in time.”

They both recognize this as the first time Matt has ever verbally communicated with her. Elyse looks at him in shock before the look changes to one of amusement, with a little frustratement, “Are you serious?” She asks.

He nods in confirmation hopefulness clear on his face.

“Oh my god, if I wasn't so happy I’d punch you right now” she laughed leaning her head on his shoulder. She felt his arm wrap around her and she couldn't believe she left this. 

Enveloped in the hug of a boy who has quieted her mind running faster than her being could ever. Elyse realized he slowed her down just enough for her to smell those goddamn roses.


End file.
